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Software · head to head

Affinity vs Calendly

Affinity logo

Affinity

Software

Relationship intelligence platform for professionals

From
$49/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Calendly logo

Calendly

Software

Scheduling automation platform for eliminating back-and-forth

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Calendly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Affinity built specifically for private capital firms, so it is not a general purpose CRM; Calendly the free plan allows one event type and one calendar connection, so it cannot handle different meeting formats
  • They diverge on capability: Affinity covers Contact management, Calendly covers Calendar sync.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Affinity and Calendly actually diverge.

Attributes where Affinity and Calendly differ
AttributeAffinityCalendly
Starting price$49/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown), founded (2013).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Affinity

  • Contact management
  • Deal tracking
  • Intelligence engine
  • Relationship mapping
  • Integration aggregation
  • Gmail
  • LinkedIn
  • Crunchbase

Only in Calendly

  • Calendar sync
  • Automated scheduling
  • Custom availability
  • Time zone detection
  • Reminder emails
  • Buffer time
  • Meeting polls
  • Embed on website

Both cover

  • Outlook
  • SOC2
  • GDPR

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Affinity

  • Deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equitynot Calendly
  • Automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship recordsnot Calendly
  • Finding warm introductions through existing relationship networksnot Calendly
  • Investor relations and fundraising trackingnot Calendly
  • Portfolio company support and reportingnot Calendly

Calendly

  • Sales meetingsnot Affinity
  • Interview schedulingnot Affinity
  • Customer callsnot Affinity
  • Office hoursnot Affinity
  • Webinar registrationnot Affinity

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Affinity

  • Built specifically for private capital firms, so it is not a general purpose CRM
  • Pricing is not published and requires a demo

Calendly

  • The free plan allows one event type and one calendar connection, so it cannot handle different meeting formats
  • Automated reminders and multiple calendars need Standard at $10 per seat per month
  • Round-robin routing, lead qualification and Salesforce integration require Teams at $16 per seat per month
  • SAML single sign-on, audit logs and domain control are Enterprise only, starting at $15,000 a year
  • Advertised prices are the annual rates

Pricing, plan by plan

Affinity

$49/month
  • Pro$49/month
    • Contact management
    • Deal tracking
    • Intelligence
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Everything in Pro
    • Advanced customization
    • Dedicated support

Calendly

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 event type
    • 1 calendar connection
    • Basic confirmation email
  • Standard$10/month
    • Unlimited event types
    • Multiple calendars (up to 6)
    • Integrations with HubSpot, Mailchimp, Stripe, PayPal
  • Teams$16/month
    • All Standard features
    • Salesforce integration
    • Round-robin meetings
  • Enterprise$15000/year
    • All Teams features
    • Salesforce routing lookup
    • Microsoft Dynamics 365

Which should you pick?

Choose Affinity if

  • You need contact management.
  • You also want deal tracking.
Affinity review

Choose Calendly if

  • You need calendar sync.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want automated scheduling.
Calendly review

Questions people ask

Is Affinity or Calendly better?
Neither clearly leads. Affinity starts at $49/month and Calendly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Affinity or Calendly?
Calendly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $49/month for Affinity and Free for Calendly.
Does Affinity or Calendly run on more platforms?
Affinity runs on Web. Calendly runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Calendly for free?
Yes. Calendly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Affinity starts at $49/month.
What is Affinity best used for?
Affinity is most often used for deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equity, automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship records, finding warm introductions through existing relationship networks, investor relations and fundraising tracking. Of those, deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equity and automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship records are not what Calendly is typically brought in for.
What can Affinity do that Calendly cannot?
Affinity covers Contact management, Deal tracking, Intelligence engine, Relationship mapping. Calendly covers Calendar sync, Automated scheduling, Custom availability, Time zone detection. Both handle Outlook, SOC2, GDPR.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Calendly: Does the free tier include automatic reminders?

No. The free plan only includes a basic confirmation email when someone books. Automated reminder workflows, SMS reminders, and follow-up sequences require the Standard plan ($10/month or higher).

Source
Calendly: Can I offer multiple meeting types on the free plan?

Only one event type can be active at a time. You can create multiple event types, but only one booking link works simultaneously. Switching between different meeting lengths requires manually activating another event type.

Source
Calendly: Does Calendly work with Apple Calendar and iCloud?

No longer for new users. As of August 20, 2024, new users cannot connect iCloud or Apple Calendar. Existing connections continue to work, but Calendly ended support for new Apple Calendar integrations citing Apple's security changes.

Source
Calendly: What platforms can I use Calendly on?

Calendly is available on Web, iOS, and Android. Browser extensions are available for Safari. There are no dedicated Windows or Mac desktop applications.

Source
Calendly: What does the Standard plan ($10/month) add over free?

Unlimited event types, multiple calendar connections (up to 6), integrations with HubSpot, Mailchimp, Salesforce, Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, and webhooks, plus automated reminders and email sequences.

Source
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Related pages

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